Far from Magnolia and all other towns, in the mountains on a far shore, the trio established a base in a cave there. Totomaru reclaimed his sword in his fight with Natsu after everyone left the scene. Blood stains were left in it, but were easily cleaned out with fire.
"Totomaru," a voice called from the shadows. He turned around to see a person in reaper-like robes. "You brought up quite a stir in the Fairy Tail guild, some are claiming that Natsu is dead. Was your goal achieved?"
"Yes, it was." Totomaru replied, "What was the point of capturing the cat?"
"It was only bait for the one person." Totomaru suddenly felt something tighten around his neck binding him. He dropped his katana and cupped his hands around his neck. "We don't need outsiders knowing. I have no use for you now."
Seconds later, he went limp. The strength he had before have vanished from his body. He was dead.
"I know your there Rufus. You now know what will happen to you if you displease me."
He sunk back into the shadows and left Rufus there alone with Totomaru's dead body. Rufus' heart was pounding in his chest as if he could not believe a single thing that has happened, but the body was all the proof he needed.
"What have I gotten myself in to!" He thought, "Things can't be this way."
He ran out of the cave and to Magnolia which in his case, would take a week to foot. Watching him, was the shadowy figure. Just before his shadow touched Rufus', a voice stopped him.
"He doesn't matter," the voice belonged to a pale female holding a crystal sphere. It was similar to a lachryma, but was transparent and often had a white mist inside. "He won't be able to tell any details for fear of you killing him too."
"I'm only helping you because your father promised me life in his world."
"I don't care about your methods as long a the blue haired girl is out of the picture."
"The only question is does she need to be alive. If you want to limit me you should do it now. She took the bait and is coming here as we speak."
"All we need is her to be alive. Torture her if you want, but she must live. We need all serpents on his side. Killing her would do the same, but they would think of it as normal human life. If you want to kill her then you would also have to kill her brother. Both of them would have been necessary, but she created a bond between her and his sister." The girl faded away, "Keep her confined here, I'll return when she arrives." All that was left was a white glow that only lasted seconds before completely disappearing.
"If my only limit is to have her alive, then I'm gonna have some fun." He grinned maliciously, lifting Happy in a dark orb. He stared into in for a while and saw Happy flinch.
"This is gonna hurt you a lot more than its gonna hurt her."